The Most Beautiful Roads In America

Pavement meanders through all 50 of these United States, from the hardwood forests of Vermont to the craggy coast of California's Big Sur. Most of it goes somewhere; some of it goes nowhere. The roads on these pages are a few of our backcountry favorites. They're not always the fastest way to travel on land—thank the interstate system for that. But they all beg to be explored. It's going to be a long summer. Fill the tank and go.

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Above: The Pacific Coast Highway. Cabrillo Highway. Shoreline Highway. Coast Highway. California State Route 1 wears several names over its 656-mile length. We've always liked the south–north route: Wind along the coast from L.A., duck inland to cross the Golden Gate, then wander through towering redwoods. Car culture wasn't born in California, but the landscape there may be its best home.

Above: NIKON D810, ZEISS 15MM f/2.8 LENS, ISO 400, 1/500 SEC

Northwest Passage

CANON EOS 7D, 11–16MM f/2.8 LENS @ 11MM, ISO 100, 1.0 SEC @ f/13.0

Brian Stowell

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The Historic Columbia River Highway (above) curls eastward just outside Portland, Oregon, the terrain changing from deciduous forest to rolling grassland along the way. Here, the road climbs Rowena Crest. Washington State is visible to the north, just across the river.

DJI PHANTOM 3 PRO, 20MM f/2.8 LENS, ISO 100, 1/60 SEC @ f/2.8

Michael Matti

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Mountain Loop Highway in northern Washington (above) is treacherous in winter—and often closed in that season, snow too high to plow—but beautiful year-round. Follow it into the Cascades, then take one of the dozens of trailheads to natural wonders like the Big Four Ice Caves.

Such Great Heights

DJI PHANTOM 3 PRO, 20MM f/2.8 LENS, ISO 100, 1/50 SEC @ f/2.8

Chris Osuna

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"The Million Dollar Highway," a segment of U.S. 550 (above), snakes along the west side of the Continental Divide, linking Silverton and Ouray, Colorado. The route reaches 11,018 feet above sea level along a sliver of pavement through Red Mountain Pass. Acrophobes, brace yourselves: Drop-offs are dramatic, and guardrails are scarce.

NIKON D810, ZEISS 21MM f/2.8 LENS, ISO 400, 1/125 SEC @ f/8.0

Stefan Bogner, CURVES-MAGAZIN.COM

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Glacier Point Road (above), deep in California's swath of Yosemite, is home to heady views of Half Dome. The road dead-ends at a trailhead. Want magic? Get there by sunrise.

Back East Byways

NIKON D5, 70–200MM f/2.8 LENS @ 70MM, ISO 160, 1/800 SEC @ f/2.8

DW Burnett

New York's Storm King Highway (above) was one of the first public roads designed specifically for the automobile. Construction began in 1916, with the road finally opening to traffic in 1922. Surveyors rappelled down the cliffside to plan the route, which was then blasted from the rock face of Storm King Mountain, some 400 feet above the Hudson River. The road is now virtually abandoned in favor of the nearby thruway and Route 9W, making the views and corners that much sweeter.

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DJI PHANTOM 3 PRO, 20MM f/2.8 LENS, ISO 200, 1/100 SEC @ f/2.8

Michael Matti

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Smugglers' Notch (above) was so named because Vermonters used the mountain pass to continue trade with Canada, in violation of President Jefferson's Embargo Act. In the 1920s, Prohibition reinforced the route's illicit reputation. The notch carries less contraband these days, but the place is so pretty, it still feels illegal.

Scenery by Design

Malcolm MacGregor

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The Blue Ridge Parkway links Virginia's Shenandoah National Park and North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains National Park with 469 miles of leisurely curves. The speed limit never exceeds 45 mph, but the road was purpose-built to offer the best views of the area, so only a fool would rush it, or complain.

North Carolina's Linn Cove Viaduct (above) lifts the parkway over the fragile ecosystem around Grandfather Mountain. The 1243-foot span was completed in 1987. It remains one of the most complex concrete bridges ever built.

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